Back in Time

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I hadn't been back to Goslar since 1996 when I finished my summer job there as a student at a local recycling firm, so our decision to head back there for a quick overnight stay had me wondering whether the place would still be the sleepy little town in the Harz mountains that I remembered.

We arrived at the station fairly early in the day following our journey from Koeln and were pretty knackered, especially with the heat that day. Luckily, the Tourist Info office in town quickly found us some accomodation at a very central guesthouse (thankfully not the guesthouse I'd stayed in 10 years previously, which was run by a small battleaxe of a woman who thought your every move was hers to monitor..she was, in fact, still on the Tourist Info list but thankfully had no room for that night).

For a very reasonable rate, we had a large room in a gorgeous house in a nice part of town inside the city walls, with our own bathroom and a nice neighbour across the road who provided free wireless internet access ;->).

Before exploring the town, we went to check on the Herzberger Teich, a freshwater lake in the woods beside the local mining museum. We needed the refreshment of a cool swim, though the water was a little colder than we'd expected. Nevertheless it was great to have this entire lake to ourselves.

On the way there, we dropped in to the house of some people I'd known way back then, but with whom I'd lost contact over the years. Amazingly, they were still there, and one of their sons greeted us confusedly at the door (he was 12 when I last saw him!). Later we went to their house for a delicious dinner and some well overdue catching up on the past 10 years - a really nice evening!.

The next day we were off to Berlin for the World Cup final, but beforehand we explored the town. Goslar is much bigger than I remembered it, and still just as pretty. This old Kaiser town has loads of history behind it, and much to offer tourists on a short visit. In Germany, the town has something of a reputation for being a pensioner bus tour destination, but there really is something there for everyone with an interest in history. I won't bore you with the details, but look it up online and you'll get the details you need.

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